Knoxville Neighborhood News
Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol. 7, No. 32 – Friday, September 12, 2014
1. No Newsletter Next Week
2. Mechanicsville Homecoming Slated for September 20
3. Debbie Sharp to Join the Office of Neighborhoods
4. City Council to See Busy Agenda Tuesday
5. MPC Begins the Northwest County Sector Plan Update
6. BZA Decisions Can Impact Your Neighborhood
7. Conference Targets Teens and Their Health Decisions
8. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Published by the City of Knoxville’s Office of Neighborhoods to report news important to Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods. Deadline for news & calendar items: 9 a.m. Friday
1. No Newsletter Next Week
This Neighborhood Advisory newsletter will not be published on Sept. 19. The next issue will be dated and distributed on Friday, September 26. We welcome news from neighborhood groups. The deadline is 9 a.m. on publication dates.
2. Mechanicsville Homecoming Slated for September 20
Mechanicsville Community Association will hold its Third Annual Homecoming Parade and Ninth Annual Homecoming Celebration on Saturday, September 20.
The community parade will step off at 10 a.m. from the corner of Fifth Avenue and University Avenue. This year, the parade will double as a Memorial March for loved ones who have lost their lives to violent crime. The parade will end at Danny Mayfield Park, where the community celebration will be held from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.
The day will be filled with music, dance and other entertainment; greetings from community leaders; and booths that feature food, clothing, and crafts. Various nonprofits will disseminate information useful to community members. All are invited to attend and participate.
For more, contact the Homecoming Chair, David L. Gillette, at 865-356-1179 or [email protected].
3. Debbie Sharp to Join the Office of Neighborhoods
Debbie Sharp, an active member of the South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association, has been named Assistant Neighborhood Coordinator in the city’s Office of Neighborhoods (ON). Her first day on the job will be Monday, Sept. 29.
She will work with Neighborhood Coordinator David Massey on the full range of ON’s projects and programs, including The Neighborhood Conference and Awards Luncheon set for March 7 next year, the revival of the Neighborhood Small Grants Program, and outreach activities such as this newsletter.
Just last spring, Mayor Madeline Rogero appointed Debbie to the Neighborhood Advisory Council; she will now step down from that position.
In her own neighborhood, Debbie serves on the board of South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association. Among other activities, she was a driving force behind South Woodlawn’s recent designation by the National Wildlife Federation as Tennessee’s first certified community wildlife habitat.
The co-founder and leader of the hiking club Trek South, Debbie also serves as the events chair of the League of Women Voters and the treasurer of the board of Candoro Arts & Heritage Center. She was a member of CAC’s Community Leadership Class of 2005.
Debbie earned a Master of Science degree in Forest Recreation from the University of Tennessee, and she is fluent in both Spanish and English.
Her 20-year career in the social services field began with two years of service in the Peace Corps in Ecuador, where she helped young people learn leadership skills and form an eco-tourism group. She then worked for the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center, and Catholic Charities before joining Community Connections, where she manages a team of five caseworkers who advocate for clients with developmental disabilities.
Along the way, Debbie served as a foster parent to ten children, adopted two of them, and has three grandchildren.
4. City Council to See Busy Agenda Tuesday
Knoxville City Council has a busy agenda this coming Tuesday, September 16, with several items — including consideration of the Central City Sector Plan — affecting neighborhoods.
It behooves neighborhood organizations to keep track of the agendas of public meetings and to delve into items that might potentially impact their neighborhoods.
Council agendas can be found on this web page:
http://knoxvillecitytn.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx
If you click on “agenda packet,” you can then click on any individual item to bring up the background report and supporting materials that City Council members receive. These are PDF documents that can be downloaded using Acrobat Reader.
Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, in the large assembly room of the City County Building on Main Street.
5. MPC Begins the Northwest County Sector Plan Update
The Knoxville Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) is beginning the process to update the 2003 Northwest County Sector Plan.
It will hold a first round of public input meetings on September 22, September 25, and October 7. See details in the calendar below.
Browse http://knoxmpc.org/northwestcounty/ for the plan update page, including a Draft Background Report, the current Northwest County Sector Plan from 2003, an online survey, and a meeting schedule.
Residents, property owners and businesses in the Northwest County sector are invited to take an online survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/northwestcounty.
Organizations whose neighborhoods are located entirely or partially in the Northwest County Sector include Adell Ree Park Condominiums Homeowners Association, Brittany Place Homeowners Association, Deerfield Homeowners Association, Foxboro Homeowners Association, Kirkwood Homeowners Association, Landmark Neighborhood Watch, Seven Springs Home Owners Association, The Village at Bearden Homeowners Association, and Westavia Woods Neighborhood Watch.
For more, contact MPC Planner Liz Albertson at [email protected] or 215-3804.
6. BZA Decisions Can Impact Your Neighborhood
If your neighborhood cares about how close a building can be to the street or a neighboring property (known as setback requirements); the size, height and shape of commercial signs; parking lots and driveway widths; the number of required parking spaces for nearby businesses; and related issues, then you may wish to pay close attention to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).
Established by city ordinance, BZA hears appeals of denials of building permits by the city’s Building Inspections Department. The board, consisting of five citizens appointed by the Mayor, meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building. Thus BZA meets next week on Thursday, Sept. 18.
Keep up with how the BZA might impact your neighborhood. Watch for the black and white signs indicating that there is a pending decision on a particular piece of property. Most signs are for Metropolitan Planning Commission issues — which are also important — but signs with the word “variance” are BZA items.
The BZA agenda is posted at http://www.cityofknoxville.org/boards/zoning.asp no later than the Monday prior to the BZA meeting each month. Next week’s agenda is already posted.
A neighborhood group that keeps track of BZA will request and study the paperwork on a particular appeal, decide whether to take a position on the appeal, and then attend the BZA meeting to voice the group’s support or objections.
Decisions of the BZA can be appealed within 15 days of the BZA decision to Knoxville City Council. Appeals of a City Council decision are made to Chancery Court within 60 days of a City Council decision related to BZA.
7. Conference Targets Teens and Their Health Decisions
A health conference for middle and high school students in Knox County will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, September 27, at Bearden High School.
This is not the first year for this conference, but it does have a new name coined by participating teens: TBH100, which stands for “talkin’ ‘bout health and keeping it 100 percent real.”
“The conference’s main goal is to help teens understand the long-term implications of the decisions they make today,” said Charlayne Frazier, TENNderCare program manager at the Knox County Health Department. “We hope they gain an appreciation that their choices can greatly impact their education, family, career goals and health.”
The event is free, but registration is required, and attendance will be limited to the first 200 teens who sign up at http://knoxcounty.org/health/tenndercare_info.php. Or call 215-5087.
The conference will feature an interactive life maze, healthy food presentations, distracted driving demonstrations, tobacco prevention education, physical activity circuits and other activities. This event is designed to support one of TENNderCARE’s objectives, which is to improve health outcomes and screening rates among teens.
Sponsors include the Knox County Health Department, Knox County Schools, managed care organizations (MCOs), Smoke Free Knoxville, Youth Health Board, Project Grad, Teen Health Empowerment, and Knox Adolescent Partners in Prevention Initiative (KAPPI).
8. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Include your neighborhood-related event or meeting in this space. Call 215-3232.
Visit http://www.cityofknoxville.org/calendar/ for a complete list of meetings of various city boards and commissions. See the Community Events Calendar: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/events/events.pdf
If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to attend a public meeting, please contact Stephanie Brewer Cook at 215-2034 or [email protected] no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting you wish to attend.
Friday, September 12 — 6 p.m.
Beaumont Community Organization (Second Fridays)
Community Room, Solid Waste Transfer Station, 1033 Elm St.
Natasha Murphy, 936-0139
Saturday, September 13 — 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday South
Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920
Monday, September 15 — 7 p.m.
Alice Bell Spring Hill Neighborhood Association
(Third Mondays except June, July, December)
All are welcome to attend.
New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Lane
Ronnie Collins, 637-9630
Monday, September 15 — 7 p.m.
Historic Fourth & Gill Neighborhood Organization
Board Meeting (Third Mondays except January)
“Birdhouse”/Fourth & Gill Center, 800 North Fourth Avenue
Liz Upchurch, 898-1809, [email protected]
Monday, September 15 — 7 p.m.
West Hills Community Association (Third Mondays)
Executive Committee: January, March, April, July, August, September, November, December
General Meeting: February, May and October
First Church of the Nazarene, 538 Vanosdale Rd.
Ashley Williams, 313-0282
Tuesday, September 16 — 6 p.m.
Delrose Drive Neighborhood Watch (Third Tuesdays)
Riverview Baptist Church, 3618 Delrose Dr.
Corina and John Buffalow, 523-0102
Tuesday, September 16 — 6:30 p.m.
Lonsdale United for Change (Third Tuesdays)
Lonsdale Recreation Center, Stonewall Ave.
Steve Ritter, 973-0877
Tuesday, September 16 — 7 p.m.
Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association (Third Tuesdays, except December)
Larry Cox Senior Center, 3109 Ocoee Trail
Tuesday, September 16 — 7 p.m.
City Council (Every Other Tuesday)
http://www.cityofknoxville.org/citycouncil
Agenda: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/citycouncil/agenda.pdf
Wednesday, September 17 — Noon – 1 p.m.
Eastport / Lee Williams Neighborhood Watch (Third Wednesdays)
Lee Williams Senior Center
2240 M. L. King Jr. Avenue
Sylvia Cook, [email protected] or 237-6940
Thursday, September 18 — Breakfast – 7:30 a.m. Meeting – 8 a.m.
East Knoxville Business & Professional Association (Third Thursdays)
Open to Neighborhood Residents and Leaders
Meeting location varies
Doug Minter, [email protected], Knoxville Chamber, 637-4550
Thursday, September 18 — 8:30 a.m.
Historic Zoning Commission (Third Thursdays)
http://www.cityofknoxville.org/boards/historic.asp
Kaye Graybeal, 215-3795, [email protected]
Thursday, September 18 — 12 p.m.
KUB Board of Commissioners (Third Thursdays, except July)
Historic Miller’s Building, 445 S. Gay St.
See www.kub.org. Click on “About Us” at top of the page.
Thursday, September 18 — 4 p.m.
City Board of Zoning Appeals (Third Thursdays)
Small Assembly Room, City County Building
Pre-Agenda Meeting: 3 p.m. in Room 511
http://www.cityofknoxville.org/boards/zoning.asp
Thursday, September 18 — 6-8 p.m.
19th Annual Ice Cream Social
Old North Knoxville, Inc.
Old North Knoxville Park, 416 E. Oklahoma Avenue
Lauren Rider, 964-3905
Thursday, September 18 — 6:30 p.m.
Oakwood Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association (Third Thursdays)
Community Club House, 916 Shamrock Ave. at Henegar St.
Bill Hutton, 773-5228, [email protected]
Saturday, September 20
9th Annual Mechanicsville Homecoming
10 a.m. – Community Parade
11 a.m. – 8 p.m. – Celebration at Danny Mayfield Park
Mechanicsville Community Association
David L. Gillette, Celebration Chair, 356-1179, [email protected]
Saturday, September 20 — 10 a.m.
South Haven Neighborhood Association (Third Saturdays)
Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 1615 Price Ave.
Pat Harmon, 591-3958
Saturday, September 20 — 10 a.m.
Safety Fair at Safety City
Knoxville Police Department
165 S. Concord Street, Knoxville, 37919 (between Kingston Pike and Sutherland Avenue)
Safety City, 865-215-7103
Monday, September 22 — 1:45 p.m. (zoning at 5 p.m.)
Knox County Commission
(Fourth Mondays, January-October. Third Mondays, November-December)
Agenda: Click on “Information” and then “Commission Agendas”
Public Forum held at beginning & ending of meeting
Zoning Issues heard starting at 5 p.m.
Monday, September 22 — 6-7pm
Public Meeting – Northwest County Sector Plan
http://www.knoxmpc.org/northwestcounty/index.htm
Online Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/northwestcounty
Pellissippi State Community College, Cafeteria Annex, Hardin Valley Campus
Metropolitan Planning Commission
Liz Albertson, 865-215-3804 [email protected]
Monday, September 22 — 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association
Bi-Monthly Meeting (Fourth Mondays, odd months, except holidays)
Woodlawn Christian Church, 4339 Woodlawn Pike
Shelley Conklin, 686-6789
Tuesday, September 23 — 6 p.m.
Inskip Community Association (Asociación de la Comunidad de Inskip)
Community Meeting (Fourth Tuesdays)
Inskip Baptist Church, 4810 Rowan Rd.
Betty Jo Mahan, 679-2748, [email protected]
Thursday, September 25 — 9 a.m.
Special Events Community Meeting (Fourth Thursdays, January-October)
“Meet with city services that may assist in planning your event.”
Civic Coliseum Ballroom, Third Floor
Free Parking available at Civic Coliseum Parking Garage
Office of Special Events, 215-4248
Thursday, September 25 — 3:30 p.m.
Better Building Board
(Last Thursday, January-October. First Thursday, December)
Small Assembly Room, City-County Building
Agenda: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/boards/betterbuilding.asp
Cheri Hollifield, 215-2119, [email protected]
Thursday, September 25 — 6-7pm
Public Meeting – Northwest County Sector Plan
http://www.knoxmpc.org/northwestcounty/index.htm
Online Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/northwestcounty
Cedar Bluff Elementary Library
Metropolitan Planning Commission
Liz Albertson, 865-215-3804 [email protected]
Thursday, September 25 — 7 p.m.
Old Sevier Community Group
(Fourth Thursdays, February-October)
Stanley’s Greenhouses, 3029 Davenport Road
Gary Deitsch, 573-7355, [email protected]
Friday, September 26 — 9:30 a.m.
Public Officer Hearing – Neighborhood Codes Enforcement
(Usually held on the Friday following Better Building Board meetings)
The PO considers action on violations of city’s building codes.
Small Assembly Room, City County Building
Agenda: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/boards/betterbuilding.asp
Cheri Hollifield, 215-2119, [email protected]
Saturday, September 27 — 9 a.m. until last person is heard
“Coffee with the Councilman”
(Last Saturday of Each Quarter)
Vice Mayor and First District City Council Member Nick Pavlis
Bring your concerns or stop by to chat; open to all city residents.
Roundup Restaurant, 3643 Sevierville Pike
Nick Pavlis, 454-7216
Saturday, September 27 — 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
“Talking ‘Bout Health 100 Youth Health Conference
Free workshops design to assist teens in making better health decisions
Bearden High School
Knox County Health Dept., TENNderCare Program and others
Reservations: 215-5087 or via http://knoxcounty.org/health/tenndercare_info.php
Tuesday, September 30 — 6:30 p.m.
Chilhowee Park Neighborhood Association (Last Tuesdays)
Administration Building, Knoxville Zoo
Paul Ruff, 696-6584